


Battles Old And New

by Loeka



Series: A Family [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Minor Haruno Sakura/Uzumaki Naruto, also there are some oc's in this fic, and 2) the most important ones are summons!, and doesn't know the shadow clone jutsu, because naruto is a summon master here, because why not, but 1) they aren't the focus of this fic, friendship fluff comes first here, mentions of sasuke/hinata, they're only mentions tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26035270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loeka/pseuds/Loeka
Summary: In a world where a tiny Naruto and Sasuke are taken in by a civilian, the Gaara rescue mission goes a little different.The mission in Wave is different too.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Yamato | Tenzou, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: A Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889875
Comments: 24
Kudos: 65





	1. Gaara Rescue Mission - part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's what you need to know about this verse: Sasuke and Naruto got adopted by a Konoha civilian when they were still in the academy, and it led to them having a stable home life and a healthy support system. Bonus, Kakashi lives with the two of them too (long story) and has basically turned into their dad. All of team 7 get a happy home!
> 
> (for the long story that was Kakashi "my commitment issues have commitment issues" Hatake getting a home life, see the first 2 parts of the Life series. The Family series, however, will not be focusing on how him. He exists here as a dad figure to Sasuke and Naruto. And the civilian who adopted them is the mom, because Sasuke and Naruto deserve all the love)
> 
> Also, check out the GORGEOUS [fanart](https://anothernarutoblog.tumblr.com/post/627160274880937984/loekas-a-family-in-a-world-where-naruto-and/) I had commisioned for this series. It is BEAUTIFUL

He doesn’t get a wink of real sleep. The entire night he keeps thinking, panicking really, about Hinata liking him and him liking her back.

What is he supposed to do? Just the idea of going on a date with her, the idea of her being his girlfriend, paralyses him with fear. Yet he doesn’t want to hurt her either, he so desperately doesn’t want to hurt her. 

He will if he tells her he doesn’t want to date her. And telling her that would be a lie. He does want to date her. A lot.

He just can’t even think of it without having a panic attack.

When he realises normal sleep won't come, he goes for the sleep of a mission. More specifically, the sleep of being in enemy territory. Every sound wakes him up.

The result sleeping like that at home is feeling like a mental wreck in the morning. 

“Wow, you look like crap.”

He can't even summon a real glare for the idiot. He can, however, get coffee.

“Seriously, what happened with–”

“I will shove a chidori so far up your ass you’ll be tasting lightning.”

The idiot lets out an impressed whistle. Mari lets out a startled chuckle. Both of them keep looking at him with worry.

Kakashi, on the other hand, is acting like nothing unusual is going on. Sasuke would be more grateful for that if Kakashi hadn’t looked at him in a telling way when he returned home yesterday. Kakashi knows exactly what happened between him and Hinata.

Kakashi’s deduction skills suck so much. His habit of not sharing what he knows can be a true blessing, though. Emphasis on can be.

“That’s rude, Sasu-nii,” Rin says, because if she gets called out on being rude, so should everyone else.

“Are you okay, Sasu-nii?” Obito asks, looking at him with worry. Sasuke bites back a reflexive retort and drinks his coffee to buy some time. And to get some much needed energy. When he feels ready to speak calmly, he answers Obito's question.

“I didn’t sleep well.”

Rin nods, satisfied with the explanation. Not sleeping well means you get leeway on being rude.

Obito becomes more concerned. Should’ve guessed that would happen. 

Obito gets off his chair and ignores the protesting sound his sister lets out. He walks over and hugs him. Well, the munchkin hugs his leg. Then he looks up at him with his most serious expression. The adorable sight inspires a flicker of humor.

“I can kiss it better, Sasu-nii.”

Sasuke feels his lips quirk. He bends down to pick up Obito.

“A kiss would be nice.”

Obito, after wiping his mouth to prevent his kisses from being of the wet variety, takes holds of his face with tiny hands and, wearing a look of intense concentration, gives his cheek several firm kisses. While it doesn't do as much as Obito wants by far, it does make him feel a little better. 

After he finishes ‘kissing it better’, Obito aims his most serious expression at Mari.

“You kiss it better too, Mommy.”

Mari’s smile is warm as she looks at Obito. Then she raises a brow at him. Asking if he feels like playing along or not.

He must really look awful if she’s asking instead of assuming. He thought he did a decent enough job of hiding it before coming down, but apparently not.

He goes over and offers her his cheek. The kiss she drops on it has no effect, but the gentle squeeze she gives his hand does make him feel better. It always does.

Obito demands Kakashi and Rin kiss it better too. Kakashi kisses his hand like he’s a civilian damsel from one of his novels. Rin gives his cheek a single thorough kiss. Wanting him to feel better but also wanting her brother to sit back down and finish breakfast.

Obito beams, so very pleased with himself.

Naruto is wistful. Hurt by Obito's exclusion, despite knowing it's natural. Sasuke resigns himself to another kiss. 

He walks over and bends down while giving the idiot a look that tells him to get it over with. Naruto, surprised only for the briefest of moments, becomes ridiculously touched. He gives him a grin that’s as warm as it is playful, and kisses his cheek as dramatically as Kakashi did his hand. Sasuke rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips as well.

Obito beams at Naruto, won over a little more.

Sasuke puts Obito down when Rin starts fidgeting with rising distress. This is breakfast time, meaning her brother needs to eat breakfast with her. Rin doesn’t like it when things don’t happen the way they’re supposed to. 

After giving him a final hug, Obito skips back to his seat. Rin relaxes. 

“I’m going out," Sasuke says. Just the idea of remaining still makes his skin crawl. “I’ll eat something on the way,” he tells Mari. Them eating healthy is one of her pet peeves, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

As promised, he picks up a decent breakfast on the way. Then he does his absolute best to think of anything other than Hinata. Naruto’s return means that a lot of people are approaching him for information, meaning it should be easy to distract himself.

It isn’t.

Hinata likes him. Hinata likes him and he likes her back.

What is he supposed to do?

His mood grows worse as time passes and he keeps failing to keep his mind off the whole mess. Worse, thinking about it offers zero solutions.

He doesn’t know what to do.

He gets a better distraction when he’s summoned by Tsunade-sama, though it inspires a different kind of worry. A priority summon from the Hokage will do that. Hopefully she just wants to talk about Naruto.

Given the way his luck goes, she won’t.

He arrives outside her office and is told to wait. Yamato-sensei, Sakura and Naruto all show up a little later. The odds of this being a casual meeting just became all but non-existent. 

When they’re called into Tsunade-sama’s office, Tsunade-sama activates the security wards. A subtle scan of the office, and then a less subtle but more thorough one to confirm what the first told him, reveals that there are no guards in the room. 

Definitely not a casual meeting.

“The Kazekage has been taken.”

He’s been what?

"Go to Sunagakure immediately and assist in his recovery. This is an S-class mission of the highest priority.”

“Gaara’s been kidnapped?” Naruto demands incredulously, an echo to his own thoughts.

“Did I stutter?” Tsunade-sama demands. While there’s no true intent behind it, the light snap is enough to pull him out of his shock. 

“Do we know who’s behind it?” he asks, switching to mission mode. Mentally and physically both.

Tsunade-sama grimaces, making dread creep up on him. Or maybe excitement. He doesn’t know whether he’s hoping that his suspicion will turn out to be wrong or not.

“The intel points to the Akatsuki.”

For all that he’d been expecting the answer, it still hits like an explosion. Akatsuki.

 _Itachi_.

Sakura clenches her fists and her breathing deepens like she’s readying for battle. It’s only then Sasuke realizes that he’s grasped his saber and is breathing in time with her. He forces himself to let go of his saber.

“We know Gaara was taken by Deidara, S-class Missing Nin from Iwagakure. There was at least one other involved, but their identity wasn’t disclosed.”

Sasuke calls up all the information he has on Deidara. You don’t become S-class without having some serious exploits to your name. 

The Mad Bomber Deidara. Orphan, male, nineteen years old. Prodigy. Artificial bloodline limit: Explosion Release. Former member of Iwa’s Explosion Corps. Defected at age 14. Long distance fighter, explosive clay his primary weapon. Secondary specialization, earth techniques. Completed 82 official missions, 4 D-rank, 27 C-rank, 35 B-rank, 13 A-rank, 3 S-rank. Gained S-class status when he returned to Iwagakure and blew up an estimated sixth of their infrastructure. Known to have been responsible for 4 major international events, 11 minor ones, and suspected to be involved in several more. Sightings dropped significantly starting 4 years ago.

He tunes back in when Tsunade-sama gives them a look that makes it impossible to forget that she’s one of the Sannin. 

It lingers longest on him.

“I trust none of you will be blinded by your feelings.”

He can't keep from glaring at her, unable to help his offense despite knowing that she has every right to worry.

But he _earned_ her trust. He’s completed every mission she gave, despite how impossible they sometimes got. He rose through the ranks not because of favoritism, no matter what some thought, but because he proved that he could handle it.

He refuses to let Itachi take that away from him. He won’t endanger the mission.

The mission is to rescue Gaara.

“We can handle it.”

It’s Sakura who says it, voice hard. They share a look filled with the same determination.

They won’t let Itachi control their lives.

Tsunade-sama gives a curt nod.

“Gather all you need and set out. Yamato is in charge. Temari left for Sunagakure this morning, meet up and inform her of what happened.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Yamato-sensei says with a crisp salute. He and Sakura do the same.

Naruto puts his hands behind his head and gives Tsunade-sama a grin that holds too many teeth.

“You can count on us, old lady.”

Tsunade-sama’s eyes narrow with an annoyance that’s belied by the affectionate smile on her lips. 

“What the hell are you still doing here, brat?”

They split up and go gather supplies. Given the nature of the mission, this means gearing up like they’re going to war. 

He doesn’t know if it’s good or bad luck that Mari is home. She’s the only one, Kakashi and the kids are out. That makes things easier. While he normally prefers saying goodbye to Obito and Rin, this mission is anything but normal.

He might face his brother.

Mari takes the news of them going on a mission about as well as can be expected.

“Already?”

Every part of her radiates fear. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Pulling herself together like always.

Normally she doesn’t react this strongly. 

Normally Naruto hasn’t just come home.

“We’ll be fine, Nee-chan,” Naruto says, pulling her in a hug as tight as it is gentle. Mari almost breaks down again as she clutches him close, but she manages to keep it together.

“Of course you will be,” she says, more to convince herself than anything else. 

“We’ll protect each other,” Naruto tries to reassure her. It partially works.

It would have worked better if he could tell her this mission isn’t supposed to be dangerous. Never stopped them from turning dangerous anyway, but just being able to say it always makes Mari feel better.

They can’t say it. Not with a mission like this.

Not when they might face his brother.

Mari gives Naruto a look that shows she wants to tell him to run if a fight is hopeless, but she knows that would be useless. They aren’t kids anymore. They haven’t been for a long time.

“Be careful,” she says instead. Naruto smiles and lays his forehead against hers as he gives the expected response.

“Always.”

After hugging a few more moments, they let go. Sasuke steps forward and embraces her as well. Mari repeats her plea to be careful. He repeats the expected response. Mari’s grip on him tightens like she can't bear to let go, before she determinedly pulls herself together again.

Part of him wants to tell her that they might face Itachi. Part of him wants to tell her that they might finally...

Most of him doesn’t. Not yet.

Telling her before Itachi is dead would be taunting fate.

He and Naruto gather the supplies they need and go to the agreed upon gate. To no surprise, Yamato-sensei is already there. Sakura arrives shortly after, all geared up as well. 

They run until they cross the first border. Then Naruto summons a ride.

“This is Hime, the most amazing bird there is,” Naruto introduces with a sincere bow and a fond smile. Hime the eagle bends down and nudges his torso with her beak. Naruto grins and hugs her beak. 

Sasuke takes a moment to admire Hime’s appearance. Naruto was right, even for a summon, her colors are incredibly vivid. Eyes of molten gold, a head and tail white as snow. A body of rich copper, streaked with sunset orange. Streaks that disappear into wings neatly tucked in.

Her talons are coated with metal, inscribed with unknown symbols. Ceremonial, not functional, he remembers from the deductions his Sharingan made during the spar. Well, that was a different eagle, so it’s possible that these symbols are seals after all. He doesn’t think they are, though.

The fact that the symbols aren’t seals, doesn’t diminish the lethality of the metal itself. It hones her natural claws to a razor edge. Those things can rip through anything with ease. Not in the least because of how large they are.

Because that’s the thing about Hime. She’s _huge_. Her gaze crests several branch lines. Four people can absolutely fit onto her back.

“Hime, this is my team. Yamato-sensei, Sakura-chan and the bastard.”

“Sasuke works too,” he says dryly. Naruto gives him a cheeky grin.

“It’s an honor to meet Naruto’s flock,” Hime says in a low and resonating voice. She lowers her body in a way that can only be interpreted as a bow. 

Sasuke places his hands together and bows back, Sakura and Sensei doing the same. Hime straightens with a ruffle of feathers. He's betting she's pleased. As Naruto's letters have informed them, Hime appreciates good manners.

“I’ve heard many tales about you."

And they've heard a lot about her. She's one of Naruto's favorites.

“Only good ones, I hope,” Sakura says with a mock warning look at Naruto. The idiot replies with a show of false innocence.

Hime cocks her head, but without his Sharingan, he can’t interpret the meaning behind the gesture. His bet would be curiosity, though.

“He loves you very much,” she says in an earnest voice, catching him off guard. Sakura is just as surprised. And just as touched.

Yamato-sensei, touched as well, greets Hime with as much regard as she did them. Then he says they can get to know each other on the way. 

They climb onto her back. Hime's body coils for launch. She can't spread her wings in full in this clearing, meaning she has to get airborne in a creative manner. Sasuke prepares.

She throws herself into the air without use of her wings. A powerful jump boosted by pure chakra. Sasuke has just realized he should activate his Sharingan when Hime clears the treeline and spreads her wings.

They soar. Wind flows over them with what part of him knows to be a display of mastery but mostly he's focused on - flying - remaining balanced. Hime’s body moves in time with the beating of her wings, and while she keeps a smooth rhythm, remaining balanced requires conscious effort.

It doesn't for Naruto. The benefit of having done this many times before.

Naruto grins at him with a thrill he can't help but share. Despite the urgency of the situation, Sasuke is exhilarated. The wind tearing at his clothes, the earth falling away. The giddy feeling he only gets when going fast.

Definitely getting a bird summon.

It's only after Hime's flight smoothes out that Sasuke wonders if he should have told Hinata that he was leaving. Or well, if he should have told Mari to let her know that he’s leaving. But it’s not like he can tell everyone to wait while he goes back. She’ll need to learn that he’s gone on her own. 

A selfish part of him is immensely relieved that he won’t have to see her anytime soon. Another part feels guilty for how relieved he is. But it’s not like he’s avoiding her on purpose. It had honestly slipped his mind that he needed to tell her. 

He probably wouldn’t have thought of it at all if she hadn’t told him... 

He needs to stop thinking of that. He can’t afford to be distracted. Not on a mission like this.

And suddenly, despite the gravity of the situation, despite the fact that they might encounter his brother, Sasuke is overcome by humor. Naruto has barely been home for three days, and already they’re being sent on a mission to rescue the Kazekage, the holder of the Ichibi, from S-class Missing Nin.

Team Seven’s luck really is still the same as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who read the original Family, I present, new content! So happy I could finally post this. Honestly, this has been sitting on my drive for ages, but I didn't want to post it cause the chapter isn't actually finished yet. Fortunately, splitting it into different chapters solves this problem! So yes, enjoy some more Team 7 fluff!
> 
> As for Hinata, she won't be appearing in person here. A kidnapped kazekage comes first, you know? But no worries, the next installment of the series will be wholly focused on her again!


	2. The Wave Mission - part 1

**Three Years Ago**

He can’t move. Part of him knows that's a problem. Part of him knows that's a big problem.

Most of him is panicking.

He’s going to die. He’s going to die right here and right now. 

He can’t die here, he still needs to kill that man except how stupid is that, thinking he could ever be strong enough to defeat his brother because he’s weak, pathetic, not even worth fighting but he’s worth killing because that’s what’s going to happen, Zabuza is going to kill him and he won’t be able to do anything about it –

“Sasuke.”

Sensei’s voice yanks him out of his panic.

“Sakura, Naruto,” Sensei continues, and even with the mist ruining most of his vision, he can see that Sensei is giving them a determined look. “I will protect you.”

Just like that, he relaxes. Because Yamato-sensei is sending out Positive Intent to counter the Killing Intent, an absent part of him realizes.

“Protect them?”

Zabuza’s voice, low and menacing, seems to come from everywhere at once. It makes him tense up again in an instant, panic back in full force.

“You can’t even protect your client.”

And then Sensei is throwing a kunai and Sakura is moving – kicking actually, she’s kicking Zabuza’s leg because Zabuza appeared behind Tazuna and is about to kill him, except Sakura’s kick, despite being panicked and sloppy, ruins his balance enough that the kunai finds its mark, digging into his stomach.

Water gushes out instead of blood. 

“Or yourself.”

And then Zabuza – the _clone_ bursts into water and then Zabuza is behind Sensei, too fast for Sasuke to do anything but watch as he swings his sword – it slices through wood and Sensei is behind Zabuza and slitting his throat with a kunai but water gushes out again and Sensei is ducking beneath Zabuza's sword because Zabuza appeared behind him and then they’re fighting, disappearing into the mist too fast too follow and part of him is aware of what Naruto is doing but mostly he’s panicking because he doesn’t know what to do –

“Summoning–”

Naruto aborts his summoning with a yell, forced to leap out of the way of a kunai flying almost too fast to dodge, the mist making it even harder to spot.

And suddenly he can move again.

Sasuke darts forward and grabs shuriken and wire, hiding the wire in his palm and positioning himself so he can cover Naruto. Sakura started to do the same but she fell back when he moved, grabbing a kunai and giving Tazuna a quick glance. Because they need to cover him as well. Right. He’d forgotten about that.

“Naruto, get rid of the mist,” he says, mind racing as it didn’t before.

They need to get rid of the mist before anything else. He can hear Sensei and Zabuza fight, but the sound is distorted, impossible to pinpoint even a general location. Trying to spot them is just as useless. The most he catches are fleeting shadows, and the perspective is all screwed up. The only thing he’s certain of is that he’s between Zabuza and his friends. Mostly Naruto because he’ll be vulnerable while casting his technique, but if it’s something worse than kunai, he can cover Sakura as well.

First things first. They need to get rid of the mist. Right now they’re sitting ducks.

Naruto races through hand seals. This time there’s no attempt to interrupt him. Is Sensei preventing Zabuza from doing that? Or does Zabuza not think it worth the effort to interfere unless Naruto tries to summon?

“Wind Release, Concussive Gale!”

Naruto spins around with his arms spread wide, ruining the attack power of his technique but letting him blow away the mist from all sides.

Zabuza and Sensei are closer than expected. Sensei has gotten a sword from somewhere – unsealed it? – and is using it to redirect Zabuza’s own, deflecting the huge blade just enough that he can slip past it. They’re exchanging blows almost too fast to follow and Sasuke is thinking, is trying to come up with a plan but everything he thinks of is useless. It's unfair how fast Zabuza is moving, how fast his stupid sword is moving!

And then Zabuza moves way too fast - punch, kick? - and Sensei's sword is broken and Zabuza is kicking Sensei away, kicking him towards the lake actually but Sensei skids onto the shore instead. Sasuke is so relieved. Mist nin means water is a kill zone.

Instead of going after Sensei, Zabuza rests his sword on the ground. Positioned to propel him towards Sensei, part of him notes, but most of his focus is on Zabuza. He looks... considering? Sasuke thought he could only look evil.

“ANBU, huh?” Zabuza says, sounding almost normal despite still sounding so scary as well. Same as when he ‘politely’ introduced himself. “No wonder I haven’t heard of you.”

And that’s when Sasuke registers his actual words. Sensei is ANBU? That explains why they couldn’t find him in Kakashi’s bingo books.

“An impressive deduction,” Yamato-sensei says calmly. Like this is just a normal conversation and not, you know. A battle to the death.

Zabuza lets out a derisive scoff. He ignores the way it makes him, Naruto and Sakura jerk.

Sakura moves her hand. Asking for orders. Sasuke also realizes she’s looking at him in a way that means she wants him to come up with a plan. He should have noticed that sooner.

He’s distracted from planning because of the talk happening.

“Not really. You tree lovers are a disgrace to swordsmen everywhere. Fight one and you’ve fought them all.”

“I suppose that to a former Swordsman of the Mist, we must seem subpar,” Sensei says and Zabuza’s eyes narrow. The movement was quick, caught only because he is standing still, but there was annoyance there, maybe even anger. And it appeared when Sensei called him a _former_ Swordsman of the Mist.

Despite now really not being the time, Sasuke can’t help a burst of humor. Seems the Demon of the Hidden MIst can dish out trash talk but can’t handle getting it returned.

“You know what else you tree lovers are known for?”

Every bit of humor disappears when Zabuza looks at them, another wave of Killing Intent threatening to make him freeze.

“Sentiment.”

Sasuke hears Sensei start to chant – earth technique – but he's busy spinning around and throwing his shuriken, though he doesn't know why he’s doing it.

He’s doing it because he caught a glimpse of Zabuza – another clone? – about to attack Sakura. 

Sasuke is so glad that Sakura is already dodging. With a squeal. Part of him realizes she was being weirdly quiet before. So was Naruto.

Naruto has yelled and grabbed a tagged kunai, and Sasuke is grabbing more shuriken to throw, but then an earth spike forces Zabuza away – must be a clone, it’s moving slower than the real one – and he stops to reassess. The spike catches some of his shuriken – sloppy throw, need to work on that – but others get through.

The clone dodges both his shuriken and the new spikes shooting out of the ground. Sensei’s technique forcing the clone away from them. Sakura takes the opportunity to yell at Tazuna and drag him out of the kill zone. Tazuna stumbles along, wild eyed, deathly pale and clutching his bottle of sake like his life depends on it. 

The clone is still being forced back, and with Tazuna out of the way, Naruto can use explosion tags -

“Sensei!”

Naruto’s yell makes him jerk his head back – stupid, shouldn’t have taken his eyes off them completely! – just in time to see that Zabuza is about to engage Sensei in close combat. Taking advantage of his grounded position. Sensei can’t lift his hand from the earth without cancelling his technique.

Naruto throws his tagged kunai and that’s risky, except it turns out it isn’t because Zabuza uses the tip of his sword to alter its trajectory so fast that Naruto doesn't get the chance to detonate it. How did he know it held an explosion tag? Naruto wraps them around the handles to prevent that!

The earth behind makes a noise different than that of a spike shooting out, making him glance back at the clone – can’t forget about it, it can still go after his friends – He sees it dissolve into water, impaled by sharp protrusions sticking out from the last earth spike. Then he sees Zabuza engage Sensei from the corner of his eye and he quickly returns his full vision to them.

Sensei is on the defensive. Without his sword, he isn’t capable of deflecting Zabuza’s blade, meaning he has to dodge every hit. Sasuke thinks Sensei might still be getting in his own attacks but it's hard to tell over needing to see him dodge, dodge, dodge!

“What do we do?” Sakura demands and alright, what do they do? Close combat is out, and Sensei and Zabuza are fighting too close together to use big techniques or explosion tags. And while an illusion _might_ be able to distract Zabuza a little, the odds are too low to base a plan around it, even with him and Sakura casting one at the same time. There’s also the fact that they can’t leave Tazuna unprotected, meaning if the two of them cast an illusion, Naruto will need to cover them and Tazuna both. With an opponent like this, that isn’t a one man job.

They need the pack.

“Naruto–”

He cuts himself off. If Zabuza interfered before because Naruto was trying to summon, telling Naruto to do it out loud would be a big mistake.

He’s just about to use hand signals instead when Naruto, looking determined, starts racing through the seals needed to summon. That makes things easier.

Unfortunately, Zabuza reveals that the reason he interfered before was indeed because Naruto was trying to summon. Kunai fly through the air – one, two, three – almost too fast to follow.

Almost is all he needs.

He hooks wire onto shuriken and throws them before snapping his wrist and using the wires to ensnare the kunai and make them go wide. A rush runs through him when he succeeds.

The rush is obliterated when another clone appears behind Naruto – just how many are there? – making Naruto yell and abort his summoning and Sasuke is moving to support him and so is Sakura – an earth spike shoots out the ground and impales the clone, making it burst into water.

Zabuza kicks Sensei onto the lake.

This is bad. This is very bad.

Zabuza is already running after Sensei while Sensei twists around so he’ll land upright on the water, and Zabuza is moving too fast for him to cast a technique so Sasuke throws more shuriken instead, and Naruto throws a tagged kunai and Sakura is racing to cast an illusion - balance disruption - but she won't be in time, and Sasuke is frantically grabbing more shuriken, doesn’t know what to do, only knows he needs to buy Sensei enough time to get off the lake!

Zabuza dodges his shuriken without even looking at them and grabs Naruto’s kunai in the same movement, throwing it away before Naruto can detonate it. Sakura is still casting her illusion.

Sensei lands on the lake - is being pulled under the surface, completely submerged just as Zabuza reaches him and they've got to do something – wood shoots out of the water. Zabuza leaps back to avoid getting skewered, looking shocked but Sasuke is far more focused on Sensei, back on the surface and blurring through hand seals too fast to follow.

“Wood Release, World Of Trees Wall.”

The earth shakes and Tazuna falls down as countless branches shoot up, weaving together almost too fast to follow. And then there’s a wall of trees in front of them, hiding Sensei and Zabuza from view. Behind it, earth rumbles, wood groans and leaves rustle on a scale he’s never heard before.

Sasuke realizes that he’s gaping. Given that Sensei is _using the Wood Release_ , he thinks he can be forgiven for that.

There’s a deafening roar – water, he absently identifies – and suddenly part of the wall is being torn apart by that water – not aimed at them, their position out of the kill zone – and he hears Naruto and Sakura scream, screaming for Sensei he thinks but the noise is making it hard to tell – and then it’s over. Water rains down, leaving behind broken branches and what is a deafening silence compared to the noise from before.

The trees start moving. Receding into the ground like they were never there. The only evidence left is a scarred terrain.

Sensei is standing on the shore. Sasuke almost runs to him but he catches himself in time. Sakura does too.

Naruto doesn’t.

“Naruto!” 

Sakura’s yell makes Naruto halt.

“Tazuna,” he adds. Reminding Naruto of their mission.

Naruto is - scared - torn but then he becomes determined. He quickly falls back, and then he starts summoning. He doesn't finish the technique though, holding it steady instead. A kunai is ready to cut his hand open and finish the final step.

Sasuke adjusts his own position to one that will better let him protect Tazuna, his shuriken ready to be used. Sakura completes the formation, a kunai in hand as well.

Tazuna, sprawled on the ground, is wild eyed, deathly make and shaking like a leaf. His breathing is irregular and way too fast.

He doesn’t move as they position themselves around him. Good. 

The formation they take on lets all three of them see Sensei, though only from the corner of their vision in his and Sakura’s case. While Sasuke does his best to keep watch of their surroundings, he can’t help but keep most of his attention on Sensei.

Sensei signals the all clear.

They run.

Sasuke skids to a halt in front of Sensei and frantically inspects him, looking for injuries and only absently aware of Naruto’s and Sakura’s panicked babbling as they attack Sensei with a hug.

Yamato-sensei is drenched, making it difficult to see if he’s bleeding. Naruto and Sakura being in the way isn’t helping. Sasuke is pretty sure that Sensei isn’t bleeding though. His clothes are damaged and one of his sleeves is torn off, but there are no cuts on any of the skin he can see. Bruises, a lot of bruises, but no cuts. And he isn’t holding his weight like a really painful wound, meaning a really serious one, would cause.

There is a _very_ deep gash on Sensei’s forehead protector, uncomfortably close to an eye. But there’s no broken skin.

Sasuke lets out a harsh breath, dizzy with relief. Sensei is fine. 

He realizes that his eyes are closed and that he's leaning against Sensei when he feels Sensei’s hand on his neck, a chakra not his own whispering over him. He also realizes that Naruto’s arm is beneath him. Because Naruto is still hugging Sensei.

“I’m unharmed,” Sensei says in a calm voice, making him relax even more. Naruto lets out a wail of relief, and when Sasuke opens his eyes and looks at him, he sees that Naruto has buried his head in Sensei’s stomach and is crying. Sakura is standing on his other side, hugging Sensei just as tightly and crying as well. Sasuke feels his own breath hitch and tears rise, and he suddenly wants to hug Sensei as well. He wants it so much.

He realizes that he can’t. Because he's already holding Sensei’s pants. Apparently he put his weapons away so he could do that.

For some reason, he can’t let go.

“Zabuza and his associate got away,” Sensei continues in that calm voice, letting go of him and laying his hand on top of Naruto’s head. His other hand is touching Sakura’s neck. Taking her pulse, Sasuke realizes. Probably checking for injuries too, given the chakra he felt. “The danger is over.”

Sasuke starts crying. The danger is over. 

Naruto gets his arm out from beneath him and uses it to pull him close. Sasuke hugs him back. 

He’s scared.

Yamato-sensei strokes his hair. This time there’s no whisper of chakra.

It’s still comforting.

It takes a while before they're ready to stop crying. After they're done, they open their eyes and look up at Sensei.

They don’t let go of him. 

“You did well,” Sensei says in a voice warmer than it's ever been, but now that he’s no longer so scared, Sasuke realizes that something... something is wrong with Sensei. “All of you did very well.”

“...So everything is okay now?” Naruto asks, not at all comforted by Sensei’s words. Sasuke understands why. 

Yamato-sensei’s face is completely blank as he looks down at them. Not unreadable like he often is, normally he has an air of... of something. 

This time there’s nothing. It’s creepy. Very creepy.

“Everything is okay now,” Sensei assures them in an even warmer voice. It would have been nice if not for the way he was looking at them. 

“Then why do you look...”

Sakura falls silent, not knowing how to say that Yamato-sensei looks... he looks wrong. 

Sensei lets out a soft _ah_ , sounding as if he’s realized something.

He smiles. It’s warm and proud and _really_ weird to have him look right without warning. 

“Did you just...”

Naruto looks like he can't believe what he's seeing and also kind of like he wants to laugh. 

“Yamato-sensei, did you forget how to smile?”

What kind of question is that? Obviously he didn’t forget that. Did he?

“It doesn’t happen often,” Sensei says like there’s nothing weird about forgetting how to smile. Sasuke looks at Naruto and Sakura, unable to believe what he just heard. They look back with the same disbelief.

He snorts.

Naruto bursts out laughing and so does Sakura, and then he’s laughing as well and they really shouldn’t be laughing. Sensei almost died, they almost died so there really is nothing to laugh about.

But Sensei _forgot how to smile_.

He laughs harder, vaguely aware that Naruto and Sakura are getting louder as well.

They fought Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. They found out that Yamato-sensei is a Senju and an ANBU.

And they learned that Sensei sometimes _forgets how to smile_.

They said they wanted more exciting missions than D-ranks. This is definitely more exciting. He isn’t sure yet if that’s a good or a bad thing.

And Sasuke wonders. Are all their real missions going to be like this?


	3. Gaara Rescue Mission - part 2

It doesn’t take long for them to meet up with Temari and inform her of what happened. Temari is understandably frantic to get home. Thing is, while Hime is huge enough that she can carry five, it would mean a two hour delay.

Naruto finds this to be unacceptable. So he summons another eagle.

“This is the magnificent Sandamaru,” he introduces with a grand bow. Sasuke genuinely can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or sincere. Might be both actually.

Sandamaru is 'only' about half the size of Hime, meaning he’s still huge. He has the same piercing eyes as her, and his head and tail are the same bright white, but his body is a blue so dark it could pass for black.

The metal covering his talons is a lot less decorated than Hime’s.

“I’m only here as a favor to Hime,” Sandamaru says fiercely, giving Naruto what is obviously a glare even with the alien body language. “Don’t think I’m here for you, _human_.”

He makes it sound like the dirtiest insult possible.

“I would never,” Naruto says, solemn and serious and definitely not biting back a grin. Given the familiarity he’s showing, this is apparently normal behavior on Sandamaru’s part. 

Temari gets onto Sandamaru’s back. Yamato-sensei joins her. They resume their journey. Taking off inspires the same thrill as before, but it lessens as time passes. 

They're becoming restless. A result of how little effort their travel requires. Oh, they need to keep hold of Hime with chakra and work to keep warm even with the cloaks they’re wearing, but they don’t need to work as hard as they would when running. Or even as hard as they should when flying this high. The wind flows over them with what an earlier inspection with his Sharingan confirmed to be a masterful manipulation on Hime’s part. 

A similar inspection of Sandamaru reveals that he's – younger than Hime. In awe of her. Proud of himself. Fond of Naruto and incredibly annoyed by it – not as skilled as Hime by far, but he’s good enough that Sensei and Temari are having an easy time of it as well. Especially Temari. Turning the wind to her advantage isn’t anything new to her.

So yes, flying is more enjoyable and less taxing than running. It also doesn’t give the same feeling that they’re actively working to get to their destination, despite moving faster than they ever could on foot. That makes them feel restless and impatient. Not something they can afford right now. 

So they talk. 

“When did you sign a contract with Sandamaru?” he asks. Naruto never mentioned signing a contract with him, or with any eagle other than Hime for that matter. 

“I didn’t,” Naruto says. “He’s part of Hime’s flock, so I can ask him to come. He can say no though.”

“I thought you only did single contracts” Saku,ra says with a questioning look. From what Naruto wrote, he brokers contracts with individuals. Sometimes there are multiple individuals involved but not entire clans. Flocks. Whatever the summon equivalent.

“Eh.”

Naruto moves his hand in a way that means _kind of but not really_. How helpful.

“Naruto was granted permission to call only me,” Hime says, her words clear as day. Her wind manipulation really is amazing. “But through me, he has a connection to my flock. He can ask for their aid as well. Most would not respond, though.”

Given that Naruto summoned a different eagle than Hime and Sandamaru during their spar, ‘most’ is apparently relative.

“I’m only doing this for you!” Sandamaru yells, a lot less clear than Hime but still well understood. The sudden yell startles Temari and Sensei. “I don’t like him!”

Someone’s a little defensive.

They keep chatting about unimportant things. The important things they already went over before meeting up with Temari. There’s no mention of the thing between Naruto and Sakura, no reference to his own feelings for Hinata. Nothing that could distract them from the mission. Just light talk and banter to keep themselves from getting too worked up. Sakura and Naruto talk a lot more than him, but just listening to them is soothing.

Strange how even with the possibility of facing his brother, he feels better than he has since Hinata...

Sensei and Temari are having more difficulty. Temari is understandably a lot more affected than they are. But an occasional check up with his Sharingan reveals that they manage to find suitable topics to broach whenever Temari starts getting too anxious.

It was nice of Sensei to take on the job of looking after her. Not that Temari wouldn’t have been fine without it, but letting her stew in her worry for her brother when simple conversation can fix it would just be cruel. Still, Sasuke wouldn’t want to do it himself. 

Thanks to Yamato-sensei, he doesn’t have to. 

They make great time. Normally it would take three days to reach Sunagakure, but Naruto's summons cut it down to two.

On arrival, they learn that the other Akatsuki member involved wasn’t his brother. It was Sasori of the Red Sand. A Puppet Master hailing from Suna itself. Renowned for turning the bodies of his enemies into puppets. And for his poisons.

They learn that those poisons are killing Kankuro.

“Take me to him,” Sakura orders, switching to full on medic mode. To no surprise, the Sand nin don't obey. This isn’t Konoha.

“Follow me,” Temari says, taking the decision out of her comrades hands. They follow her to the hospital.

Temari marches into the building. She doesn’t seem to need to ask where Kankuro is, either knowing where he is from experience or having his location signaled to her in some way. Sasuke memorizes all he sees more on habit than anything else. Tsunade-sama is always interested in hearing how foreign hospitals are run.

They arrive at Kankuro’s room. Sakura makes a beeline for the charts holding his information, all but ignoring everyone who isn't Kankuro. Sakura is always a force to be reckoned with, but when she’s on a mission to heal, she becomes unstoppable. 

Sasuke gives the unconscious Kankuro a cursory inspection. Shallow and irregular breathing, pale and clammy skin, and basically presenting an all around awful picture. Most of his attention is on the other people in the room, though. Baki is present and so is a medic. A high ranked medic, though not a combat one. Her reaction to their arrival made that clear. There are also two _very_ old ninja. Their clothes give no indication of their rank, but the way they’ve positioned themselves in the room and their reaction to their entrance shows that they used to be field ninja. In which case, their age alone means that they’re a force to be reckoned with. You don’t live as long as they do without some serious skill.

“Temari,” Baki greets with open relief, but Temari is far more focused on her brother.

“Can you save him?” she demands, her hand holding Kankuro's and her eyes flickering between him and Sakura.

“I need eight liters of sterile water,” Sakura answers, not looking up from the charts. “Make that twelve,” she amends after she turns a page and gets some new information.

One of the elderly ninja, the woman, lets out a derisive scoff.

“You think you can save him, little girl?”

Sasuke raises a brow, more than a little surprised at the open hostility. Especially against Sakura of all people. Ignoring that they’re allies, Sakura is the Hokage’s apprentice. By definition, she holds serious political clout.

Baki gains a fleeting grimace and gives Yamato-sensei an apologetic look. Trying to minimize the damage. Too late for that.

Sakura lifts her gaze with a glare.

“I know I can.”

With that, she puts the charts away, pointedly asks only Baki for permission, and starts her own diagnostic of Kankuro’s condition. 

“Don’t worry, Temari,” Naruto says with a bright smile that’s only partly deliberate. “Sakura-chan will save Kankuro. And we’ll save Gaara as well.”

 _I promise_. Naruto doesn’t say so out loud, they’ve long since learned that sometimes you can’t keep promises no matter how hard you try. And Naruto hates nothing more than breaking his word. So, no promising it out loud no matter how much he wants to.

Doesn’t stop Naruto from promising it silently to himself. 

Naruto’s cheer and determination have their usual comforting effect. On Temari and Baki that is. The elderly ninja are not impressed.

“Leaf children doing our job for us, bah.”

The old woman skillfully gives up the impression that she’d like to spit on the ground. The reason she doesn’t is because they aren’t worth dirtying the floor for.

“The Sand has grown weak,” the old man condemns, his expression more than a little similar to that of the woman. Must be related somehow. Also, insulting his own village in front of outsiders? Worse, in front of the political powerhouse that is Team Seven? Must be really high ranked to be able to get away with that.

Naruto gives their warm welcome the response it deserves.

“Wow, what crawled up your ass and died?”

Temari chuckles, genuinely caught off guard, while Baki’s lips twitch with what could be a smile or a grimace.

“My apologies,” Yamato-sensei says with expertly faked courtesy. If he really thought that Naruto was going too far, he would have interrupted before he could finish. Sensei is polite right up until you insult Konoha in general, never mind his students in particular. “Naruto sometimes speaks too frankly.”

Sensei doesn’t apologize for the insult itself. Just the way it was delivered.

The woman glares, while the man radiates disapproval. Baki allows them to see that the twitch of his lips was a suppressed grimace. 

“Chiyo-dono and Ebizo-dono are honored elders,” Baki says. A diplomatic warning. To insult these two is to insult the Sand. 

The combination of names tugs at the back of his mind. He calls up the information, trusting his team to watch his back as memories rise.

Chiyo and Ebizo. The Honored Siblings of the Sand. Purposely never took on a clan name. Councillors. Officially speaking, retired. Two of Sunagakure’s greatest assets during the Second and Third War. The Honored Ebizo is known for his strategic leadership first, skill with the Wind Release second. The Honored Chiyo is renowned for her battle prowess. A Puppet Master with especially potent poisons. 

The Honored Chiyo is the paternal grandmother to Sasori of the Red Sand.

Well now. Seems he isn’t the only one who has family business with the Akatsuki.

He tunes back in just in time to hear Sensei claim they meant no disrespect to the Sand. Which is true. They meant no disrespect to Suna as a whole. Just these two grumps. A fact Sensei makes clear without giving great enough offense that political retaliation is required. Sensei is talented like that.

Chiyo’s glare grows dirtier, while Ebizo looks at Sensei like he just confirmed every thought he's ever held about the Leaf. Someone’s a little bitter.

Something of his thoughts must’ve shown despite his efforts to project a neutral air, because Chiyo glances at him like he’s something nasty stuck to the bottom of her sandal. He gives her a too quick once over before refocusing on Baki. Dismissing her as unimportant.

Chiyo is not amused. Neither is her brother. Or Baki. Too bad.

Team Seven is known for many things. Being polite is not one of them.

Judging from Baki’s and Temari’s behavior, the Honorable Siblings aren’t known for it either.

While Sakura gets to work on saving Kankuro, Yamato-sensei and Naruto are escorted outside by Baki. Blood and personal belongings are the best thing a tracker can ask for, and they have personal belongings for all three and blood for one. This will be a piece of cake for Naruto's summons.

Ebizo follows them after sharing a glance with his sister, though what they’re communicating isn’t clear. Sasuke stays behind with Sakura, taking up a guarding position. Her work requires her attention to the point where it leaves her vulnerable. Not that he thinks anything will happen, attacking the Hokage’s apprentice is a surefire way to cause a diplomatic disaster. But he feels better watching her back. And it’s not like he can do much to help Naruto and Sensei. Sure, he can track, very well in fact, but it's not his specialty. Not like it is for Naruto’s summons. Investigating the battlefield is useless as well, he wouldn't be allowed to use his Sharingan. 

Chiyo, Temari and a number of undoubtedly hidden guards stay behind with them, though Temari doesn’t stay for long. Sitting around and doing nothing isn’t good for her state of mind. After half ordering, half begging Sakura to save her brother, she goes to do something else to prevent herself from going mad with worry. 

As soon as she’s gone, Chiyo drops all pretense at playing nice.

“So you’re the Slug’s apprentice.”

Chiyo is not impressed. Sakura ignores that, far more focused on her work. Her eyes are closed and her breathing reveals just how much effort this is taking her. Extracting all of the poison instead of a big enough sample to create an antidote from requires all of the control she’s famous for.

Chiyo apparently doesn’t care about that.

“You think you’re at her level already? What arrogance.”

“Almost as arrogant as insulting your allies when they’re busy saving one of your own,” he says, casual in a manner as pointed as her derision is. Drawing Chiyo’s attention away from Sakura. Honestly, this is ridiculous. There’s being rude and then there’s being hostile.

Chiyo gives another demonstration of the difference.

“Allies? Don’t make me laugh.”

Sasuke is pretty sure that making this old crone laugh is impossible.

“You’ll play nice until you no longer have use for us, and then you’ll stab us in the back.”

“Pretty big chip on your shoulder you’ve got there.”

He almost doesn’t catch the reflex to take on an openly defensive stance when Chiyo gives him a look that shows exactly why she’s reached the age she has. There’s no true intent behind it, but when you get to a level like hers, there doesn’t need to be.

“You’re a foolish and naive child.”

A scowl escapes him before he can help it. He might be young, but he hasn’t been a child in a long time.

“And you’re a bitter old crone,” he says with open derision, before dismissing her by turning his gaze out the window. Not letting her out of his sight completely, you don’t do that with someone of her skill. He’s just adding insult to injury. 

Two can play this game.

“As fascinating as it is to hear you bicker,” Sakura says in a way he knows to be falsely calm but many others don’t. She hasn’t opened her eyes but she has paused her work. Ensuring the conversation won’t lead to her making a mistake. “I’m going to ask you to be quiet now. I need to focus.”

Yes, she does. And while he started this in her defense, he's now inflaming the situation.

He lets out a soft _hn_. Letting Sakure know he’ll behave. 

“Are you giving me orders, little girl?”

Chiyo’s question is a naked blade, making him return his full vision to her. He doesn’t truly believe that she’ll attack Sakura, but he’s ready to interfere if he turns out to be wrong.

If he turns out to be right, Chiyo won't attack them. She will, however, try to goad them into attacking her. To attack her is to attack the Sand after all.

Sakura takes a fortifying breath before she opens her eyes.

She smiles, polite and friendly. For all that she has a temper, she’s amazing at controlling it when she so chooses.

“Of course not, Chiyo-dono.”

The respect even comes over as genuine.

“This is a request, nothing more. You’re right, my skill pales compared to that of my master.”

But it outshines that of everyone else.

“If I’m to save your comrade, I will need all my focus. Which is why I humbly request you don’t allow yourself to be goaded by my teammate.”

Laying it on a bit thick there.

“His youth means his control over his temper is somewhat lacking.”

Unlike that of the wise and experienced Chiyo-dono.

Sasuke contains a smirk when Chiyo sneers. Sakura won this one. 

“You really are that woman’s apprentice.”

It isn’t a compliment.

Sakura’s smile brightens, masterfully hiding the victorious smirk that wants to break free. Only the glint of her eyes betrays her, and it doesn’t betray her enough for Chiyo to say anything about it.

“Thank you, Chiyo-dono,” she says like Chiyo just gave her a great compliment. Which she did. Sakura is always pleased to be compared to Tsunade-sama. However, Chiyo is wrong. Sakura didn’t learn this particular brand of diplomacy from Tsunade-sama.

She learned it from Sensei. Yamato-sensei is a master at insulting people with praise.

Sakura looks at him with such stern warning, definitely not sharing a victorious smirk. Sasuke inclines his head with clear acceptance of her reprimand, definitely not smirking back.

Chiyo watches their byplay with a scowl. But she doesn’t start antagonizing them again. Too prideful to let Sakura win like that.

Sakura resumes her work. He keeps standing guard.

They’re going to be here for awhile. Sakura will need at least half a day to get rid of all the poison in Kankuro’s body. Naruto and Sensei will be long back by then, but until they are, he’s stuck here. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, guard duty isn’t new to him, but right now he’d prefer doing something more active. Something that would occupy him enough to prevent his mind from turning towards the hope and fear that he might finally...

It’s going to be a long day.


	4. The Wave Mission - part 2

**Three Years Ago**

It’s been a long day. After arriving at Tazuna’s house, they set up a perimeter, and Naruto summoned Urushi, Guruko, Shiba and Akino to patrol. Four of them are overkill, the odds of Zabuza attempting another attack today are basically zero. But better safe than sorry.

They sat down with Sensei. Tazuna remained in the room as well, though his daughter soon left.

They started brainstorming. First about their own part in the fight. As it turns out, they did good for the most part. Sensei laid all they did right. Then he pointed out all they can improve on, and he even gave them a rough estimate on how long it would take for their training to bear fruit.

They’re going to train like mad to ensure that they’re _never_ outclassed like this again. But that’s for later. Right now they have other worries.

The Demon of the Hidden Mist. More specifically, his actions during the fight.

They don’t make any sense. Why announce his presence like that and give up the element of surprise? Why toy around with them? Looking back, he was basically fooling around until Sensei used the Wood Release. So was Sensei, but Sensei explained that he was following Zabuza’s lead in order to gather more information. And because he was trying to keep his bloodline hidden, though that obviously didn’t work out.

Sasuke still can’t believe that Yamato-sensei is a Senju. Oh, Sensei told them that he doesn’t know who his parents are, but him having the Wood Release means he’s related by blood somehow.

Sensei stepping up his game forced Zabuza to get serious as well. But the question remains. Why wasn’t he serious from the start? He’s a master of the Silent Killing Technique, he could have taken out Tazuna before they even knew he was there. Or he could have attacked them full force from the start, forcing Sensei to concentrate on protecting them and leaving Tazuna an easy target.

Zabuza didn’t do that. The opposite. They were able to repel all of his attacks with what in hindsight was way too much ease.

There’s only one explanation that makes sense. Zabuza didn’t want to kill Tazuna. 

Why? He made no secret of the fact that he was hired by Gato to do exactly that. Him sparing Tazuna makes no sense at all.

They brainstorm a lot about why Zabuza could have acted like this. It would have been a lot easier if Ino was here, but they have to make do. 

The realization that they need to learn how to do this without her is really painful.

Eventually, they come to the conclusion that Zabuza must be trying to drive up the price for killing Tazuna. He wanted to fail now to make it seem like the mission was harder than expected, meaning it will be more expensive than expected.

Sensei compliments them on their conclusion. Then he reveals that there are several other reasons possible.

Zabuza is rumored to be working with the Mist Rebellion. That definitely wasn’t in Kakashi’s bingo books. Normal, the Rebellion has survived this long exactly because no one knows much about it. But if Zabuza is part of the Rebellion, that changes his motivations. He might not have taken the mission for himself, he could have taken it for the Rebellion. So what could the Mist Rebellion want with Gato? Money? Still a possibility, Gato is one of the wealthiest men in the world. Sensei says it’s more likely that the Rebellion wants to use Gato’s shipping company to move around unseen, though. The Land of Water is made of islands. It can’t be easy for the Rebellion to move around undetected. Gato’s shipping company would allow them to smuggle themselves around without notice.

Or maybe Zabuza isn’t doing this mission of his free will at all. Maybe Gato has something on him. Or on the Rebellion. Unlikely, but they don’t have enough information to rule it out.

The essence of their conclusion is still the most likely outcome, though. Zabuza probably isn’t satisfied with whatever agreement he has with Gato, and he’s trying to force Gato to adjust it in his favor, either in money or in services. This is not just the most likely conclusion, it’s the most desired one as well. Why?

Because if they’re wrong, the odds of Tazuna surviving are pretty much zero. Zabuza is known for stealth assassinations. Sensei finishes his analysis with a blunt statement that if Zabuza decides to utilize that as his strategy, he won't be able to protect Tazuna. That’s really uncomfortable to hear.

It’s a lot more uncomfortable for Tazuna. He’d been following their conversation with a familiar mix of disbelief and horror, though it's a lot stronger than what Mari sometimes shows. But at that last, he goes even paler than he already was and takes a long drink of his sake. Understandable. But his odds aren’t quite as bad as he thinks they are. Sensei explains that, if they’re right and Zabuza does indeed want to change the agreement, Zabuza will probably stage another open confrontation. Putting on another show for Gato, though this one won't end with him retreating. Sensei can then take him out for real.

Of course, instead of adjusting the agreement by way of open confrontation, Zabuza might sabotage Gato instead and blame it on them. Sasuke really hopes he won’t do that, though. He also really hopes that Zabuza needs a second confrontation to get what he wants, and didn't get everything he needed with this one.

Judging from how Tazuna looks when he brings that up, Tazuna really hopes so too.

Sensei writes down a message, to inform Konoha of the changed circumstances. When he’s finished, Naruto summons Pakkun. Kakashi will get the message when he summons Pakkun later tonight. The Demon Brothers were chunin, elevating this to a B-rank mission. Risky but doable for a team of genin and their jounin teacher.

The Demon of the Hidden Mist is another matter. His presence turns this into an A-rank mission. Even without adding in that he has a partner of unknown strength. Well, partly unknown. Sensei knows that Zabuza’s partner possesses the Ice Release and is skilled at using it. He used it to occupy Sensei long enough for Zabuza to get away.

So yeah, an A-rank mission. Not something a genin team can handle. Sasuke would have thought they could if asked even a day before, but Zabuza’s fight with Sensei showed just how outclassed they are. The Killing Intent alone was leagues above anything the teachers at the academy ever prepared them for. It was even above what Yamato-sensei prepared them for.

They need help.

“I can’t pay you,” Tazuna says, miserable. Sasuke shifts his weight, uncomfortable for a different reason than before. Tazuna told them about the situation in Wave on the way here. It isn’t a good one. Hiring ninja isn’t cheap, a C-rank was all they could afford. If the Hokage decides to abort the mission instead of sending back-up...

“You can pay us later,” Naruto says like it should be obvious, giving Tazuna a bright smile.

“The bridge is going to fix things and bring in business again,” Sakura says, aimed at Sensei instead of Tazuna. “It’ll be better for Konoha in the long run.”

Sensei gives Naruto and Sakura his signature unreadable look. Then he turns his gaze towards him.

“We agreed to take this mission. Abandoning it would make Konoha look bad,” he says. He wants to stay and help as well. But as their pranks on Iruka have taught them, it’s important to have a good story ready when you’re doing something you aren’t supposed to.

Sensei’s unreadable looks makes way for a smile. Approving of their decision. Sasuke relaxes.

Tazuna kind of looks like he wants to cry.

Sensei adds something to the message before giving it to Pakkun.

“Boss isn’t going to like this,” Pakkun says like they don’t already know that.

“Neither do I,” Yamato-sensei says, and then he pulls a face that makes him snort. Naruto and Sakura laugh as well. When they first met Yamato-sensei, they thought that Sensei was incapable of anything other than being serious. By now, they’ve learned that they were wrong. Sensei has a big sense of humor.

Pakkun dispels himself, and the conversation turns towards what they should do to keep Tazuna safe. They’ve already set up a parameter, and the pack is patrolling. The pack won’t be able to do that all the time, though. Not together like this. They need to sleep after all. There’s also the fact that Kakashi is using them to guard Mari and Obito, meaning Naruto is limited to five at most. Still, five means they have enough manpower to set up shifts and have at least one out at all times. That means Sensei can always accompany Tazuna to the bridge without leaving the house... not unguarded, the three of them are still ninja, even if they’re only genin. But Sensei is a jounin, and each of the pack are high chunin.

They work out a schedule. The pack will keep watch over the house, while Sensei will guard the bridge. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura will be alternating between them, their primary objective being to get Tazuna and his family out of danger in case of an attack.

It feels like a very shoddy plan. Nowhere near enough to protect Tazuna and his family from Zabuza. Only Sensei can do that. But Gato has hirelings and mercenaries under his command too. Now that’s something they can protect Tazuna and his family from. Especially with help from the pack.

It doesn’t solve the problem of them being horribly outclassed.

Here’s to hoping Zabuza will decide to stage a confrontation instead of working from the shadows. 

“It’s useless.”

The sullen remark comes from Tazuna’s grandson, who came down while they were planning. Unlike Tazuna’s daughter, they haven’t met him yet.

Judging from the gloomy look he’s giving them, they didn’t miss out on not meeting him.

“Inari,” Tazuna says with surprise, the only one who hadn’t noticed him until he spoke. Civilians are weird like that.

Tazuna waves his grandson over.

“Come say hello. These are the ninja who saved Grandpa.”

His grandson, Inari, doesn’t say hello. Instead he keeps giving them a gloomy look.

“You’re all going to die.”

How cheerful.

“No we’re not,” Naruto returns with a frown. Insulted by Inari’s behavior. Confused by it too.

“Yes you are,” Inari says with all the certainty of a little kid. “You can’t beat Gato, he’s too strong. You should leave. If you don’t, you’ll die.”

What a load of crap.

“We aren’t leaving!” Naruto yells, just as annoyed as he is by Inari’s gloom and doom.

“Didn’t you hear me? Gato’s too strong!” Inari yells back, because why not have this turn into a shouting match?

Naruto leaps to his feet, no longer just annoyed but starting to get pissed off.

“Then we’ll just get stronger!”

Exactly.

“Giving up is no way to do things!”

It isn’t. If you give up, nothing changes. If you give up, you lose what you love.

Naruto gives Inari the look that means nothing is going to stand in his way.

“We’re going to keep your grandfather safe and get this bridge build. We’re going to make things better. I promise.”

Well. If Naruto turned it into a promise, giving up is even less of an option than it already was.

Inari scoffs.

“What do you think you are, a hero? There’s no such thing as heroes.”

Naruto is incredibly insulted. Sakura is too.

“You’re being really rude, you know,” she says. Inari looks at her like she’s an idiot and goes back upstairs without another word. What a jerk.

“Sorry,” Tazuna says, and he doesn't look angry about his grandson's behavior. Just tired. “People have suffered a lot ever since Gato took over. Inari is no exception.”

“We’re helping you,” Sakura says, as unimpressed by Tazuna’s excuse as he and Naruto are. “The least he can do is show some gratitude.”

Tazuna gives her a glare but the anger fades as fast as it appears. He lets out another long sigh.

“Inari didn’t used to be like this,” he says, wistful. Then he launches into a sob story about how Inari’s father figure was killed by Gato. How tragic.

Naruto and Sakura, however, melt like the idiots they are. He rolls his eyes.

“He’s a whiny kid,” he says, having even less sympathy for Inari than he already did. Inari loses his family, and instead of working to get rid of the man who did it, he just gives up? Great way of honoring his father figure.

“Wow, way to be a bastard, bastard.”

Because of course the idiot and his bleeding heart come to the kid’s defense.

“Yeah, that’s out of line, Sasuke,” Sakura says, frowning at him. “You of all people–”

“Don’t you dare,” he snaps, unable to believe the nerve of her. He would _never_ dishonor his family like this.

Sakura scowls, still convinced she’s in the right. He glares harder, warning her to keep her mouth shut about things she has no right to speak of. Sakura scrunches her nose in the way that means she might open her mouth anyway, but then she gets up and goes upstairs. Intending to comfort the whiny kid. Unbelievable. 

Naruto hesitates, torn between staying with him or following Sakura. He rolls his eyes and jerks his head towards the stairs. The idiot is overreacting. He doesn’t need to be babied just because Sakura was way out of line.

Naruto hesitates a moment longer before running after Sakura. But not before giving him a tight hug. Which, okay, that does make him feel a little better. A lot better, actually.

Yamato-sensei observes the proceedings with his usual calm air, giving no sign of what he’s thinking. Sasuke appreciates that. He feels kind of weird. He doesn’t want to know if he looks weird as well.

Tazuna looks miserable as he watches Naruto go. He lets out a deep sigh and takes another drink. Then he pulls himself together. Not acting like a whiny kid, unlike his grandson.

“You’ll protect Inari and Tsunami?” he asks him, serious. Sasuke scowls, but then he remembers that Tazuna is their client. He forces himself to sound calm.

“We will.” No matter how annoying the kid is.

Tazuna slumps with relief. Sasuke doesn’t remind him that, aside from Yamato-sensei, all of them would be minced meat within seconds of facing Zabuza again. That’s not something Tazuna needs to hear right now. 

They’re going to train like hell after this mission is over. They’ll start during this mission actually, but given that they don’t know when Zabuza will strike again, learning a new technique is too risky. But he and Naruto are definitely practicing their water walking. Against a mist ninja, being able to fight well on water is an absolute must. Sakura and her absurd control don’t need as much practice as they do, but light sparring on water will be good for her as well.

That’s for tomorrow, though. Tonight, they’re going to rest as much as they can.

It’s been a long day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The funny thing about writing these missions from Sasuke's pov, is that you realize Sasuke actually has a lot more in common with the main side characters (= Inari and Chiyo) than Naruto does. They form way more interesting parallels to his story than to Naruto's. 
> 
> Of course, Naruto can still steal the show, because Naruto is charismatic as hell. 
> 
> So, did you enjoy? Two people commented on this story so far, and I won't lie, it's making me feel a bit anxious. Even a short 'I love this' would be super appreciated :)  
> (as for the two that did comment, guys, you made my week and I seriously would not have been this happy to post without you. Hope you enjoyed the new chapters just as much as the first two!)


	5. Gaara Rescue Mission - part 3

Sakura ends up needing half a day to extract all the poison from Kankuro. Then she needs an additional day to create an antidote for the little poison still in Kankuro’s system. And to create antidotes for them as well. Annoying, but Sasuke can’t deny the advantage the antidotes will give. Aside from what she makes for Kankuro, she has enough ingredients to create an additional three doses, each of which will protect someone for three minutes.

Three minutes in battle are an eternity. Sure, Naruto would just burn through the poison, and Sensei might be able to get rid of it as well, but they’ll still be hampered enormously until their healing factor takes care of it, if not completely incapacitated. Same with Sakura. She can negate the poison enough to keep it from killing her, maybe even get in another attack or two, but no more.

As for him, well. If he gets hit with that poison, it’s game over. Good thing he specializes in dodging.

But yes, the antidotes offer a huge advantage. Doesn’t mean he has to like the time needed to make them. At least Naruto’s eagles mean they won’t lose too much time catching up to the summons he sent out to track Gaara. 

Naruto sent out a variety of summons. There was Nezumi the rat, who got paired with a horse, Matsukaze. She’s there for Nezumi to ride on. Nezumi can’t move as quickly as he needs to for a mission like this. Then there was Bikou, the lightning wolf from their spar, Sasayaku, a moth Naruto has mentioned in his letters, and finally, Ku, Ka and Mon, three bears Naruto conspicuously hasn’t mentioned before.

Naruto didn’t send out any of the pack. He doesn’t want to risk Kakashi needing them and them being unable to respond to his call.

After Sakura finishes preparing the antidotes, she needs to rest. The rest of them took naps to ensure they’ll be in top shape when they set out, but she didn’t have that luxury. She can still keep going of course, but against S-class opponents, even the slightest bit of fatigue can turn fatal.

Fortunately, Naruto’s eagles take care of this problem as well. Not having to travel by foot really is incredibly useful.

Sandamaru is less than pleased to be called again, though.

“How dare you treat me like one of your spineless sycophants. I am not your _lackey_.”

“Are you including me in that statement?” Hime asks and Sasuke is pretty sure that she’s amused. He’s definitely sure that Sandamaru, his feathers flaring and his head swiveling towards Hime, did not mean for his remark to be taken that way.

“No, of course not, Hime, I would never – I meant all those other cretins he consorts with, not _you_. You are as untameable as the wind.”

Strong words from someone who can, in fact, tame the wind.

Naruto jumps into the conversation and, with the ease of long familiarity, butters up Sandamaru by saying he only summoned him because mountain eagles are the fastest flyers there are. None of his other flight summons capable of carrying them, a bat and owl respectively, can get them to their destination as quickly as Hime and Sandamaru can. Sandamaru grumbles some more, but despite his complaints, he doesn’t dispel himself or object when Yamato-sensei and Chiyo get on his back. 

Because the Honorable Chiyo is going with them. Now that was an unpleasant surprise. Temari was originally supposed to come instead, but she's needed at the borders. Baki didn’t share more details of course but Sasuke is pretty sure that the news of Gaara’s kidnapping has reached Iwa. It’s the most likely explanation for why securing the borders takes priority anyway.

He, Naruto and Sakura get on Hime’s back. Naruto’s summons haven’t tracked down Gaara yet, but they’re on the trail, and they’ve informed Naruto of the direction they’re traveling in. Namely, towards the Land of River.

Sakura, taking the opportunity to get some sleep, gets comfortable against him. She could have used Naruto as a pillow instead, but given that Naruto can get a message from his summons at any time, Sasuke is a better choice to keep her steady while they travel.

Even with the mission, the opportunity is too good to pass. Sasuke gives Sakura, huddled into his side and already fast asleep, a pointed look before he smirks at the idiot. Seems Sakura prefers to cuddle with him over cuddling with Naruto.

Naruto responds by sticking his tongue out. Sasuke grins.

As they fly, Naruto gets updates from his summons. They can’t send him true messages, but they can send chakra pulses along their connection, meaning they can send coded signals. Like coordinates.

Most of the coordinates are coming from the bears. Naruto isn’t surprised by this. In his words, bears are _crazy good at tracking, seriously, never piss off a bear. They hold grudges like whoa and they will hunt you down_. There’s a story there. Given that Naruto hasn’t shared it in his letters, it’s a hilarious one. Something to wheedle out of him after the mission is over.

When they start nearing the border, Sasuke wakes Sakura. 

It’s a good thing he does. Shortly after they cross it, Hime lets out a piercing cry, making him activate his Sharingan on instinct and he sees - Naruto and Sakura startle, turning combat ready on instinct - Hime, alarmed and caught off guard and preparing to dodge an attack!

“Incoming!”

His yell goes out right before Hime finishes tucking in her wings.

They drop like a stone and the change in angle lets him see - chakra infused paper, all pieces part of the same whole. Transformation technique - their attacker. 

The paper follows them down. The pieces are - reinforced with seals, resistant to fire, water and lightning. Carrying an object in its center mass - moving faster than Hime. Hime - knows this too - creates a whirlwind with another piercing cry, the attack aimed at their pursuer.

The paper slices through the winds - precise bursts of wind chakra, countering the vortex - weakened but not stopped. When Sandamaru sends a stronger whirlwind from the side, Sasuke throws shuriken and wire, taking advantage of the wind currents to get his weapons around the object being carried. The object is - long, thin, inflexible. Protected by a significant amount of chakra - important to whoever it is that’s attacking them. They’re planning to do something with it. Sasuke does not want to find out what.

Paper shoots out, catching his shuriken and slicing through the wires. The object and most pieces keep chasing Hime. 

Hime - is rapidly moulding chakra - snaps open a wing and spins up - partly disorientating Naruto and Sakura - before she uses her other wing to create a whirlwind that makes Sandamaru’s look small.

The paper gathers around the object and prepares to withstand an attack, and the outer pieces - light up, chakra infused ink becoming visible - hold more than resistance seals!

“Bomb!”

His yell gives the others a split moment warning before the explosion tags go off.

The explosion - partly dampened by a rushed wind manipulation from Hime - manages to almost knock them off Hime, and Sasuke almost doesn’t process - paper surging through flames - the follow up attack in time. He leaps towards their attacker and - avoids the cuts aimed at vital areas - slices through the paper with his saber but there’s too many and the object manages to pass him, and Naruto and Sakura are still recovering from the explosion and they won’t move in time!

“Jump!”

They jump.

The object follows Naruto. Sasuke hurriedly taps Sakura with his Sharingan and prepares a replacement but he already knows - speed, angle, velocity - they won’t be in time.

Sasuke casts his technique as the paper releases the object - cylindrical chakra construct - and Naruto is - not fast enough - trying to dodge and then Sasuke is switching places with Sakura and he's flying towards Naruto and slicing his saber at - paper in a different shape. Human, female, wearing a ring like his brother - the hand holding the construct but he's too late.

The chakra construct is jammed into the Kyuubi’s seal.


	6. The Wave Mission - part 3

**Three Years Ago**

Waiting for battle to happen is not fun. The first day guarding Tazuna goes by super slow. He, Naruto and Urushi patrol the house, guard Inari and Tsunami, and train, while Sakura accompanies Sensei and Tazuna to the bridge. This means Sakura sees more of the town than he and Naruto do.

What she sees leaves her subdued the entire evening afterwards. Subdued, and determined.

“We need to help them,” she says, soft but resolute. “Sensei, can’t we just... you know.”

Know what?

The answer is Sakura lifting her hand and making the sign for lethal force, followed with a question sign. Is she... is she suggesting they _assassinate_ Gato? That’s... very clever actually.

It’s also disturbing. And worrying. 

Are things in town that bad?

“I fear that if we get rid of Gato now, it will do more harm than good,” Sensei answers, so smooth that he has to have thought about this already. That’s... well, Sensei is ANBU, so Sasuke supposes it makes sense that he would think of this, but still. It’s weird that he’s talking about killing someone so calmly. Weird, and uncomfortable. Yeah, they’re going to have to kill eventually, but already? Shouldn’t that be a last resort only?

Sensei's words make Tsunami startle, but then she looks at them with an uncomfortable amount of hope. So does Tazuna. Inari, fortunately, is upstairs.

“Why?” Sakura demands, pointedly not looking at Naruto. Who’s making no secret of how weirded out he is by her behavior.

“Gato has an army of mercenaries. If Gato dies, they lose their income. While they wouldn’t remain here for long, they’ll stay long enough to ransack everything of value in town.”

“What value?” Tazuna mutters bitterly, and Tsunami scowls in a way that says she agrees with her father. 

Sensei doesn’t even glance at them.

“I can protect the townspeople but not their belongings. A battle of this scale would cause a great deal of property damage, which is something the town can’t afford. This is without considering what Zabuza would do if he were to lose his employer.”

Wow. Sensei really has given this serious thought, hasn’t he?

“But you’d be willing to do it?”

Tsunami’s demand, urgent and desperate, draws all their attention. 

“You’d be willing to kill Gato?” Tsunami clarifies, never looking away from Sensei. The way Tazuna looks at Yamato-sensei shows that he really wants to know the answer as well. 

The state of Wave must be a lot worse than he thought it was if both Tazuna and Tsunami are this desperate to get rid of Gato. Though given that Gato killed Tsunami’s husband, well. It’s understandable.

Doesn’t stop Sasuke from feeling uncomfortable anyway.

“If getting rid of Gato was the best way to complete our mission, then yes, I would be willing,” Sensei says like he’s talking about the weather and not about killing someone. “If you’re asking whether Konoha accepts assassination contracts, then no, we don’t.”

Sensei looks at the three of them.

“Not unless the circumstances are exceptional.”

Sasuke shifts his weight, even more uncomfortable than before. Naruto and Sakura are just as weirded out. Sensei is obviously saying this for their benefit, teaching them about how things work. Which, well, they knew those kinds of missions existed, obviously they knew. But actually hearing that Konoha sometimes accepts them is really unnerving. They aren’t Kiri. 

“And the circumstances here aren’t exceptional?” Tsunami demands, but while there’s some anger, she seems more tired than anything else.

“Not exceptional enough,” Sensei says with an apologetic look. 

“But Sensei... Gato is really awful,” Sakura says softly. When Yamato-sensei meets her eyes, she lifts her chin, gaining more confidence. “The people here are suffering. They’re starving. They’re _dying_.”

Tsunami flinches, while Tazuna closes his eyes and suddenly looks twice his age. 

“Isn’t this exactly the kind of exception Konoha makes? To help people?”

“Not when the client has already falsified information,” Sensei says, and Sasuke can’t help but notice that he didn’t actually answer Sakura’s question. 

He didn’t confirm that they only take on assassination contracts to help people.

“But it would help Konoha in the long run,” Sakura says like she's arguing with Iruka-sensei. Like she isn't talking about killing someone.

“And allowing people to falsify information without repercussion would harm us in the long run,” Yamato-sensei counters. “We’re open to renegotiating existing contracts,” he assures Tazuna and Tsunami, who’ve become alarmed. “But there will still be consequences to your actions.”

Tazuna grimaces but he seems more resigned than anything else. 

“Well. Best we can hope for, I guess.”

Tsunami doesn’t look like she agrees with him, but she doesn’t speak up either.

“But that’s not fair!” Sakura yells, starting to get worked up.

“Lying about a mission isn’t fair either,” Sasuke points out. Yeah, he gets why Tazuna did it, but the fact remains that he put them all at risk. If he’d been honest from the start, the Hokage could’ve figured out another way for him to pay and send an appropriate force from the start.

“Oh who cares!” Naruto bursts out, only one moment away from jumping to his feet. He’s as worked up as Sakura is. “We’re here now and we aren’t leaving until we make things better! That’s what ninja _do_.”

Is it, really? He used to think it was, but hearing Sensei avoid Sakura’s question... he’s no longer so sure.

But if ninja aren’t meant to make things better, then what are they meant for?

“Right?” Naruto demands, looking at him and Sakura, and it helps him shake off his stupid thoughts. So what if not all ninja help people. They do, and that’s what matters.

“Right,” Sakura says firmly. He nods his own agreement. 

Naruto gives them the beaming smile that always makes him feel better.

Tazuna and Tsunami are giving Naruto weird looks. Like they don’t believe him but really want to.

They’ll show them. They’re going to make things better no matter what. They’re going to complete the mission no matter what.

The next day, he goes with Sensei and Tazuna to the bridge, while Naruto and Sakura stay with Tsunami and Inari. He sees more of the town on the way, and yeah, Sakura was right. It’s... it’s bad. It’s really bad. A lot of buildings are destroyed, looking like they've been ransacked or torched. The people on the streets look thin and twitchy.

There are no kids anywhere. Somehow that’s the creepiest thing of all. Kids are always running the streets in Konoha. 

Sasuke manages to shake off his feelings when he reaches the bridge. Up close, it's _very_ impressive. It already seemed huge when they sailed under it during their arrival, but that’s nothing compared to standing on top of it. Even the biggest streets in Konoha are small compared to this thing.

Tazuna acts different here than he does at his home. He doesn’t show any fear or resignation, just stubborn determination. He isn’t hopeful, not exactly, but he’s constantly moving between the workers and giving them gruff encouragement. 

He’s a good leader.

Sasuke can’t train here like he can at the house, there’s too many people to watch over. But he can do light control exercises, and occasionally Sensei presents him with a combat scenario to work through. Even doing as little as this helps him feel more at ease.

Still. Sasuke can't stop thinking of how tired everyone here looks. How scared they look.

When they go back to Tazuna’s house, Naruto races out to meet them.

“You’ll never guess who’s here,” he says with a huge grin, bouncing in place with excitement. Something really good happened.

“I can, actually,” Yamato-sensei says, his eyes crinkled with humor.

“Shush, Sensei,” Naruto says with a wave of his hand, his grin growing some more. “Don’t ruin the surprise.”

And then Naruto grabs his hand and starts dragging him to the house.

“What the – let go, idiot,” he snaps while recovering from the stumble Naruto’s yank caused. Naruto ignores his demand with a cheeky grin. Sasuke resigns himself to being manhandled.

Naruto drags him into the house. Sasuke stares.

“Sasuke! I am delighted to find you in good health!” 

Gai gives him a blinding smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up. Three others are present, and while he’s never seen them in person before, he recognizes them immediately. Gai loves talking about his students. There’s Lee, who looks like he could be Gai’s son and who apparently acts like it too. Tenten, who has amazing aim and who dreams of becoming a legendary kunoichi. 

Hyuuga Neji. A prodigy. Who apparently needs to enjoy life more.

“My team and I are here to assist you in your mission! Together, we shall aid the fine people of Wave!”

“Told you you’d never guess,” Naruto says with relish. Sakura, seated at the table, laughs brightly. He feels a wide grin grow himself.

Their mission just became a lot easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments! They made my week, they really did :D

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos brighten my day!
> 
> The GORGEOUS [fanart](https://anothernarutoblog.tumblr.com/post/627160274880937984/loekas-a-family-in-a-world-where-naruto-and/) I had commisioned for this series. Absolutely check it out, it is BEAUTIFUL
> 
> My [main tumblr](https://loekas.tumblr.com/)
> 
> My [naruto sideblog](https://anothernarutoblog.tumblr.com/)


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